CorEnergy To Buy MoGas Pipeline For $125 Mlnn

(RTTNews) - CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust, Inc. (CORR) said Monday that it has agreed to buy the ownership and operations of the MoGas Pipeline System for $125 million in cash.

The 263-mile pipeline is a critical supplier of natural gas in and around the St. Louis region and to small municipalities throughout central Missouri.

CorEnergy plans to finance the acquisition cost with a combination of borrowings under its credit facility and with proceeds of its simultaneously announced public offering of common stock.

The transaction is expected to close in late November.

David Schulte, Chief Executive Officer of CorEnergy, said, "Our Board of Directors has confirmed its intent to increase the dividend from $0.130 to $0.135 for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 (or $0.54 cents per share annualized) based upon management's expectation that the increase is sustainable."

CorEnergy said that it plans to offer 13.0 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering.

The company has also intends to allow the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.95 million shares of the common stock, at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount.

CorEnergy plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to partially finance the planned $125 million purchase of the ownership and operations of an interstate natural gas pipeline system which originates in northeast Missouri, and extends into western Illinois and central Missouri.